Abstract
The increasing aggressiveness and impatience of drivers when overtaking, resulting in shorter distances between vehicles, have an influence on the occurrence of rear-end collisions. The influence of various factors on vehicle spacing, the legal regulations and the legal and practical figures for braking distances are discussed in order to facilitate a standard fining police procedure. The standard vehicle distance "at least the distance travelled in one second" discussed in many analyses could be used as a directive. An appendix gives a summary of the reaction time analysis (PIEV) as used in the U.S.A.